Many varieties of potted plants require some kind of mechanical support. This is true for vines, young trees and other types of indoor plants.
The ordinary wooden stake or slender stick typically employed for this purpose is not satisfactory, since the loose potting soils in which such plants are grown do not firmly anchor the stake. As a result, the stake is loosely supported and shifts out of the desired position for supporting the plant.
Further, as the plant grows, the original stake becomes too short for the plant and needs to be replaced with a longer one. While the original stake may by this time have stabilized with the settling of the soil, the newly installed stake will now present the same problem of instability that was encountered with the first stake.
There is also the possibility of root damage that occurs each time a stake is driven into the soil adjacent the plant. Some plants are especially sensitive to such damage, and the stake replacement operation should be avoided where possible.
Another problem involving plant damage that is not attributable directly to the present staking method may be alleviated through the use of the improved plant support of this invention. The damage, in this case, is that which occurs in connection with repotting. In the process of removing the plant from the original container, it is typically noted that after digging around the edge of the pot, it is still necessary to pry the root ball loose or to pull on the plant by its trunk in order to dislodge it from the pot. As this is done, the loose potting soil falls away from the root of the plant, and the roots of the plant may be torn or seriously disturbed. Further damage may occur as the plant is installed in the larger container and again in the restaking operation.
What is needed, then is a type of hollow plant feeding support that may be more securely anchored in the loose potting soil medium and used for watering the plant at various levels in the pot. The length of the support should be extendable, so that replacement of the support will not be required as the plant grows and the support provides tie supports along its length.